Protecting Her From Monsters
by ensiathe3rd
Summary: Her biggest monsters were somethings that only she could overcome. But as long as he breathed he would be there for her, cheering her on, encouraging her not to give up, and reminding her that she was stronger than all of her monsters.


**disclaimer; i do not own Phineas and Ferb**

Protecting Her From Monsters

Pinky was more intelligent than any average dog. He may not appear it most of the time but that was the point. Still his intelligence didn't matter, like any ordinary dog, he loved his owner and he knew when she was upset. More so, there was nothing more devastating to the little pup to see her cry. He hated it. All he wanted to do was track down the monster who had hurt her and make them pay. But that wouldn't stop the pain, and sometimes inner demons are more vicious than any opponent his human could conflict with. Pinky had only seen her like this a few times in the two years he had known her. His master, proud, confident, in control, kind, loving, strong, and a fighter most of the time, broken down. He had known her to slow down as the weight of all that she was pressed down on her shoulders. The thought of failure was sometimes impossible for her to bear, and her fear of rejection ate at her. Pinky saw it from time to time. But she hardly ever let it consume her. Not like this.

Isabella lay curled up on her bed, her arms wrapped around her tightly as though it was her only anchor in a vast ocean of despair. Wet lines scarred her cheeks as gravity ordered them from her eyes across her face to the bed covers below her. And her closed eyes did nothing to stop it. She was shaking about as much as Pinky normally did. For the most part she was silent, but every once and a while a strangled noise shot from her lips and she whimpered. Every sound broke Pinky's heart even more.

It didn't take long before he couldn't bear to see his owner in such a state any longer. Using all his strength, he leaped for the top of the bed. After three tries, he finally managed to climb up. He moved slowly and tried to stay as still as possible, the last thing he wanted to do was startle her. Cautiously, he sniffed the air around her. The smell of sadness drifting from her was overwhelming. But it was more than that. His master's heart was more broken than his was from watching her. He wondered how he had let it get this bad. He should have been there for her long before this. Sure, he had his secret agent duties to attend to, but that should never have stopped him from seeing what was right in front of his face. He saved people, but he couldn't save the person he cared about more than anyone else in the world from this pain. He wished he could turn back the clock and make the hurt go away, protect her from the monsters she had to face. He couldn't, but he could help her now. It wasn't the same but what else was there for it?

Pinky moved awkwardly over the soft surface of her bed around her to her head. Getting close he nudged her with his nose to let her know that he was there for her. He licked the area around her eyes and on her cheeks to get rid of the tears. Her shaking subsided a bit and she opened her eyes to look at him. He yipped and wagged his tail, before going back to his task of clearing her face of the salt water stains. She smiled sadly at him before it disappeared entirely and her entire face broke down. Fresh tears poured from her eyes, and a whimper escaped from her lips. Pinky stopped licking her face and let his ears fall. His tail stopped wagging and he let out a whimper of his own. He only wanted to help, he didn't want to make her more upset. He was contemplating what he could do, when Isabella unfolded her arms and pulled Pinky closer to her. One arm wrapped around him while her other hand pet his head. She curled even more into herself and took Pinky with her. His owner's grip was just shy of painful, but he didn't mind. She was his human. He'd take any kind of pain just to see her smile again. She broke into full on sobbing and the sound of her cries were more painful on the small dog's heart than his large ears.

He stretched up as much as he could and licked her chin. He traded his saliva for her tears hoping to make the latter disappear. He could feel her thundering heart through her shirt. He loved her so much and he wished not for the first time that he could speak her language so he could tell her. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him and how much it hurt him to see her cry. But he couldn't. He let out a whimper and yipped at her to remind her that he was there for her, then continued to lick her face. She pulled him closer to her. Minutes or hours later, it didn't matter to Pinky, his owner's cries subsided and she struggled to regulate her breathing. She stopped shaking and opened her eyes. She saw him and he stared into her soft blue eyes that were usually filled with joy and love, now stained red with the strain of her cries. She continued petting his head, though it was slower and gentler now. She gave him a small smile and kissed the top of his head, "Thank you." Pinky's ears perked up, his tail wagged, and he stretched up to give her a kiss back. She lightly laughed and he yipped.

Her eyes started to droop and her hold became less and less until she finally relaxed against her covers. Her eyes fell closed, her breathing evened out, and her light petting stopped as her hand fell to the bed. She was done exhausted from fighting the monsters off, even with the little help he could offer, it still took a lot out of her. He sniffed her again, the sadness was still prevalent in the air, but it was dissipating. He licked her once more. Then Pinky snuggled further into his master and curled into a shaking ball. He took one last look at her sleeping face before putting his head down and closing his eyes as well. He wasn't interested in leaving her.

He still wasn't even sure what was wrong, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that she was hurting and he would do all he could to make it stop, however little that might be. His head perked up when his master lightly coughed in her sleep and sniffled. After a couple of seconds to make sure she was alright, a soft whimper escaped him, and he snuggled in closer still shaking. Her biggest monsters were somethings that only she could overcome. But as long as he breathed he would be there for her, cheering her on, encouraging her not to give up, and reminding her that she was stronger than all of her monsters. Finally, he put his head back down and kept watch over her to protect her from as many monsters that invaded her dreams as he could until sleep finally dragged him under.


End file.
